Still learning
by drade666
Summary: Cas is slowly learning how to be a hunter from Sam and Dean but a mistake could cost him his life.


_**Still learning**_

Cas was still new to the whole being human thing but ever since he'd fallen Cas had learned a lot about hunting. Dean and Sam had gotten him the anti-possession tattoo and everything but the one thing Cas hadn't adapted too was pain, having fought up in heaven he'd felt pain but it never lasted too long cause of his grace's healing abilities. Sam had become attached to Cas during the last few months as well teaching him things like how to change his clothing, how to hunt even how to use the internet. Cas had only just recently started hunting full time with the boys so when a shifter showed up in the town near where they were staying the brothers opted to take Cas with them. Sam couldn't help his wandering eyes as Cas slid a hand gun into his hip holster while sheathing a knife in to his holder around his ankle before pulling his jeans over top of it.

"What?" Cas asked noticing the way Sam was looking at him

"Ah, nothing" Sam cleared his throat as Cas grabbed his black wash jean jacket before sliding it on.

The boys headed out to where the shifter was spotted not but 15 minutes ago, apparently he'd held up a convenience store. Dean pulled the Impala into an ally way not too far from the store that had been held up with lots of sewer entrances Dean figured the shifter would eventually come "home" as he put it. They took their positions in the ally and in the ally's entrance to wait for the shifter to return, which he did counting his bag of loot until that is all three boys jumped out firing silver bullets at him. They were too quick though allowing the shifter time to dodge then flee with the boys hot on his tail rounding the corner though they lost him.

"Son of a bitch! Where'd he go?" Dean cursed

"Don't know, split up" Sam suggested as they parted ways with Dean going right, Cas going straight and Sam going left. Cas knew that you never go anywhere out of sight with out back up especially him cause he was still learning the name of the game but a glint just around corner leading deeper into the maze of back ally's caught Cas' attention plus he figured it was only a couple feet, couldn't hurt right?

"Find anything?" Dean called out to Sam

"No, You?" Sam called back

"No! Cas, what about you?" Dean asked but this time received no answer causing him to turn around only to see that Cas was gone.

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked Sam who was also confused and had turned around

"I don't know, he was right…" Sam never did finish his sentence cause right at that moment a gunshot went off, followed by two more shots. Dean and Sam took off around the corner, rounding it Sam's heart almost stopped when he saw Cas lying on the ground with one arm propping him up with his gun in hand while the other grasped a clear wound to his lower abdomen.

"Damn it!" Dean swore as he took off with Sam towards Cas

Sam knelt down placing his gun beside him on the ground so he could tend to Cas more easily. Cas groaned as Sam rolled him till he was leaning partially on Sam's knee, his blood running down to soak Sam's jeans as he tried desperately to assess the damage done. Dean took off after the shape shifter once he knew Sam had the situation under control, pressing a piece of cloth he'd torn from his shirt to the bullet wound just slightly to the left of Cas' right hip. Cas whimpered as his breathing became shallower, his brilliant blue eyes looking up at Sam pleading for help as he slid his free hand under Cas' shoulders then grabbed one of his hands.

"Here, put pressure on that Okay?" Sam whispered softly, pressing Cas' hand to the rolled up cloth. Cas let out a strangled yelp as his hand pressed against the cloth causing his head to fly back, eyes squeezed shut gritting his teeth in pain as Sam slid his other hand under Cas' knees to pick him up. Sam just managed to get Cas up in his arms when a far off gunshot was heard causing Sam to look up in its direction.

"S…Sa…m" Cas chocked out with his head resting against Sam's chest

"Yeah, its okay Cas I'm gonna get you out of here" Sam assured him as he turned to head back to where they'd left the Impala. Once back at the Impala Sam managed to get the back door open to slide Cas, who was getting weaker by the second inside.

"Come on Dean!" Sam whispered with urgency he knew Cas was fading fast. Just then Dean rounded the corner running full tilt back to the Impala.

"I got him!" Dean exclaimed as he ran up to Sam

"Good now let's go! Cas won't last much longer!" Sam shouted with panic in his voice now.

"Where? We can't exactly take him to a hospital!" Dean pointed out

"Well we have to do something Dean! He's dieing!" Sam shouted again while running a hand through his long brown hair.

"I know! Look um…Doctor Robert! Dr. Robert is only like 10 minutes from here" Dean stated

"But he works in the back of a butchery Dean" Sam said not really liking that idea

"Do we really have a choice right now?" Dean asked shooting his gaze to Cas in the back seat that was now mostly unconscious.

"Alright, fine" Sam agreed then ran around to the passenger side where he climbed in the back with Cas while Dean climbed in to the driver seat. Sam placed Cas' head on his lap as the Impala roared to life then took off with Dean putting the pedal to the metal. Dean whipped the Impala into a parking spot with Sam immediately leaping from the car to grab Cas from the opposite side then carry him inside with Dean grabbing the door. Dean found the button behind the butcher's counter that told Dr. Robert he had guests on the way up before following Sam up the stairs.

"Hello-oh Dean welcome back, what in the world?" Dr. Robert asked seeing Cas in Sam's arms both of them covered in blood.

"No time for pleasantries doctor look my friend was shot we need your help" Dean explained swiftly.

"Alright, bring him in here" Dr. Robert said as he guided them into the back room. Sam carried Cas into the room that surprisingly was quite sterol.

"Lay him on the table" Dr. Robert instructed Sam as he grabbed a pair of latex gloves

Sam laid Cas on the table in the middle of the room as blood ran from his side under the cloth as soon as the pressure was taken off of it. Dr. Robert removed the cloth from Cas' side to get a better view of the wound just as his assistant Eva walked through the door.

"Ah good, you have amazing timing my dear" Dr. Robert said looking up at the gothic dressed young woman.

"Yeah so I've been told," Eva said flatly as she tossed her bag and coat to the side

"Get me some pressure gaze then set up a saline bag also prep him for surgery" Dr. Robert instructed the young woman who nodded then got to work.

"Surgery? Is he gonna be okay?" Sam asked with panic on his face

"Both of you out" Dr. Robert told the boys as he started backing them out the door

"But…" Sam tried to protest when suddenly Eva cut him off

"Doctor he's crashing! His pulse just dropped and he's barely breathing!" Eva called out

"Cas" Sam breathed out

"Out!" Dr. Robert insisted this time as he pushed them out the door then closed it

Hours passed with no word from the good doctor on Cas' condition with Dean sitting on a chair he'd managed to find while Sam paced in front of the door. Dean had turned the chair around so he could rest his arms on the back of it as his eyes watched Sam's feet pace the floor creating a groove under them.

"Sammy, relax he'll be fine" Dean tried to reassure his brother

"Why haven't we heard anything?" Sam asked more to himself then anyone else

"When he's done he'll tell us" Dean assured Sam

"I mean we should have heard something by now, what if Cas is…" Sam trailed off, his voice cracking as he ran a hand through his hair finally stopping his pace.

"Hey, Cas is tougher then he looks" Dean told Sam standing from his chair to place a hand on his shoulder. Just then the door opened behind them to reveal Dr. Robert standing in it.

"How is he?" Sam asked

"Better then he was but the boy suffered severe blood loss and some internal damage" Dr. Robert explained

"Is he gonna make it?" Sam asked as concern crossed his face

"By all preliminaries I'd say yes but he's still very weak so it's a little early to really tell" Dr. Robert told Sam

"Can I see him?" Sam asked

"Yeah go on in," Dr. Robert said but no sooner had the words left his mouth that Sam pushed past him into the room. Sam felt the air punch out of him when he saw Cas lying on the table in a pair of scrub pants with bandages wrapped around his lower abdomen, wires monitoring his vitals, an oxygen mask over his face and an IV tube in his left hand. Eva was just finishing checking everything then pulled a sheet up to his chest before heading out to join Dr. Robert and Dean in the hallway, shooting a small smile at Sam on her way by. Sam slowly approached Cas who looked so frail with his paler then normal skin making his dark hair stand out more then usual, Sam was impressed though since he'd started hunting with them Cas had gained some muscle. Sam stood near the side of the table just looking down at Cas, watching as his breath would fog up the mask then dissipate before slowly moving a hand to his forehead feeling the heat there Sam determined he must have been running a slight fever. Sam ran his fingers through Cas' dark, sweat soaked hair he cared about the former angel more then he did his own brother; he didn't know why he just did.

2 or 3 days passed as Cas remained unconscious but on the third as Sam returned carrying coffee he heard Cas beginning to stir. Sam set the coffee on the counter before swiftly running up to Cas' side as he moaned shifting his head from side to side then slowly opened up his eyes. Sam placed a strong but gentle hand on Cas' shoulder while a huge smile crossed his face causing Cas to give a weak smile back.

"Hey Cas…it's so good to see you awake" Sam said softly

"Sa…m…I…" Cas began hoarsely before wincing in pain his hand immediately going to the gunshot wound.

"Hey, hey, hey, just relax okay don't move too much" Sam encouraged Cas as he wrapped his fingers around the wrist of the hand Cas was pressing to his injury. Sam moved Cas' hand back to his side then slid his hand down till his fingers tangled with Cas' as he squeezed hard with each wave of pain Sam stroked Cas' hair. Cas clenched his jaw and bit his lip while he wreathed trying to find relief of some kind for his pain when Dean walked in.

"Cas?" Dean asked when he saw Cas struggling on the table

"He's awake, get Eva!" Sam called over his shoulder at his brother who nodded then took off to find the gothic nurse who had been helping out with Cas. Dean returned a short time later with Eva in toe behind him.

"Sshh, Cas it's okay, its okay" Sam soothed into Cas' ear as Eva came along the opposite side of the table. Eva immediately assessed Cas' condition then moved to a cabinet behind her where she pulled out a syringe then a small bottle with clear liquid inside it. Eva filled the syringe then injected the liquid into the IV on Cas' hand before running a soothing hand over his arm with her other hand on his shoulder.

"Just relax, the pain will dull soon enough" Eva told Cas

"Take deep breaths Cas" Sam encouraged him

Eventually Cas settled allowing Eva to do a more thorough assessment of his injury and status. Sam stayed with Cas gently encouraging him or reassuring him as Eva did things luckily she determined that Cas was healing quite well so she took the oxygen mask off of him to replace it with a nasal cannula instead. Eva pulled the sheet down to Cas' thighs so she could change his bandages but Cas jerked when her hand first made contact with his injury.

"Just bare with it Cas" Sam soothed as Eva cleaned then redressed the wound

"Call me if you need anything else" Eva told Sam then she left them alone

"Thanks" Dean told Eva on her way by he looked back at his brother then grabbed his coffee from the counter before heading out the door.

"Sam…I…I shouldn't have…left on…my own" Cas managed to say hoarsely

"Don't worry about it Cas, your bound to make a few mistakes. After all your still learning" Sam told him with a smile.

"So…your not…angry…with me?" Cas asked true concern on his face

"Of course not, just be a little more careful next time," Sam told him feeling like he was reassuring a child who'd just done something he wasn't supposed to even though he'd been told not to.

"That's good…cause…the last thing…I want…is for you…to be…angry with…me" Cas swallowed hard with his chest rising then falling with each breath he heaved in.

"Don't worry I'm not angry, now get some rest okay" Sam assured Cas with his thumb now brushing lightly against Cas' hand while their fingers remain intertwined.

"Okay" Cas whispered as his eyes were already beginning to close and just before he drifted off Cas felt Sam place a gentle kiss to his forehead.

It took several weeks but Cas eventually started showing substantial improvement then one day Sam walked in to find Cas standing next to the table as Eva finished looking at the healing injury. Cas heard Sam enter so he craned his neck to look over his shoulder at him with a smile then turned back to Eva.

"There all finished, your good to go sweetie," Eva told Cas with a smile before walking out past Sam. Cas nodded then turned around to face Sam still wearing the scrub pants that rode low to provide easy access to his injury but it also revealed the lines to his hip bones just perfectly as well as his newly muscular torso.

"Sam?" Cas asked finally

"Um…yeah?" Sam asked snapping out of his daze with a slight blush on his cheeks

"Can I ask you something?" Cas asked rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly

"Sure Cas…anything" Sam assured him with that usual smile of his that could light up a room. Cas now was blushing as well bringing his eyes up to meet Sam's.

"I was wondering…if you…. liked me?" Cas asked

"What? You mean like…like you?" Sam asked seeking confirmation all though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, it's just that you're always looking at me and you…." Cas trailed off averting his gaze to the floor.

"I what?" Sam asked anxious to know what Cas was going to say

"You kissed me…" Cas trailed off still staring at the floor

"Oh, you were still awake when I did that?" Sam asked now rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yes. Sam…I like you…I really like you so if you like me that's okay" Cas assured Sam locking him with his blue eyes.

"Actually Cas…I do like you" Sam said taking Cas off guard a little

"You do?" Cas asked in surprise

"Yeah, I do…I like you a lot…for a guy your pretty good looking and your smart…I guess I sort of…see a bit of myself in you" Sam explained as his blush deepened and he approached closer to Cas.

"When you got hurt all I could think about was what it would be like with out you and that was scary thought," Sam explained his expression changing to a more solemn one, his hand brushing along Cas' upper arm now. Cas shivered at the gentle contact his own cheeks growing a deep red as he looked up at Sam.

"I'm sorr…" Cas began but was cut off by Sam's mouth pressing against his

At first Cas resisted the kiss not sure what to do but then he relaxed into it, returning the kiss as Sam deepened it. Cas' hands slowly slid up Sam's sides to his back while Sam placed a hand on the back of Cas' neck and one on the hip opposite his injured one. They stayed like that for several minutes before parting for air, Sam gently tapped his forehead against Cas' as both of them smiled an unspoken claim on one another.


End file.
